Gabriel Cabrera’s Super-Fudgy Dairy-Free Ice Cream

Before summer starts to sizzle, we want to give you a few options to beat the heat when it arrives. Gabriel Cabrera, the voice and photographer behind Canadian lifestyle blog, the Artful Desperado, has brought us his recipe for Super-Fudgy Dark Chocolate, Cherry, and Tayberry Swirl Ice Cream with a big caveat: get ready to put on your stretchy pants because after one taste, you’ll be ready to eat the whole batch on your own! He has perfected his creamy, luscious, velvety, and super-fudgy “ice cream” as a dairy-free alternative to fruity sorbet. Yep, dairy-free! If you don’t already have one, with last week’s roasted peach popsicles, your cold dessert recipe arsenal should be off to a great start! –Kristina

Why Gabriel loves this recipe:This recipe is one of my faves (and I’ve been testing it and perfecting it for some time now, it’s still a work in progress you could say) because it reminds me of chocolate ice cream cake I used to have when I was a kid, back when I had the power of lactose and could have the whole thing to myself. This recipe can be mixed with other fruits in season or even be spiked with bourbon or kirsch. The secret to its fudgy-ness is in the beaten eggs, yep, it’s basically like a meringue and a chocolate ganache mixed together resulting in a smooth frozen product that’s not rock solid (which happens when you straight up freeze coconut milk).

1. Prepare a double boiler on the stove (a small pot with barely simmering water with a heat-proof bowl on top, water should not touch the bowl). Place all the chocolate part ingredients in the bowl except for the egg yolks. Let the chocolate melt and gently whisk to combine and dissolve any lumps. Add egg yolks and whisk in. Keep whisking for another 3-5 minutes until reaches at least 140F/60C (use a thermometer or just stick your finger in and if it’s more than warm then you’re good to go). Remove from the stove and allow to cool.

2. Place all the swirl ingredients in a small pot and bring to a simmer. Keep simmering for about 4 minutes until the liquid has reduced and the berries are looking more jam-like. Remove from heat and cool.

3. To make the meringue, place the sugar and water in a small pot and simmer until they become syrupy. While that’s happening, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks, then slowly and carefully pour in the hot sugar syrup in a stream while beating the egg whites. Continue to beat the egg whites until glossy and they form hard peaks.

4. Now, this may look weird, but trust me, this is where the magic happens: Grab the chocolate mix (which should be cool by now) and start slowly adding it to the meringue mix while folding it in. Yes, it may look super liquidy, but there are still tiny bubbles of air in there. Now here’s an extra step I do, but you can skip it, I do it because I find it yields an even richer product, but again, you can skip it. Grab the chocolate meringue mix and put it in an ice cream maker until frozen, then transfer to a container and freeze for a few minutes. If you skip this step, simply dump the chocolate meringue mix in a container and freeze for approximately 15 minutes.

5. Take the chocolate ice cream from the freezer and drop a few spoons of the berry mix on top and swirl. Shave some extra chocolate on top and freeze completely (about 2-3 hours).

6. Serve the ice cream topped with more berries and chocolate or just eat as is, but I mean come on, go big or go home! :P

Hope you enjoy it!

About Gabriel: Gabriel Cabrera is a Food Stylist and Photographer living and working in Vancouver, Canada. When he’s not testing recipes and eating out with friends, you can find him planning a trip in search of never ending culinary inspiration. He has a soft spot for Mexican food, french pastries, and classic cocktails. You can find Gabriel at The Artful Desperado, and follow his food-packed musings on Instagram.

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